Sean Penn gives another powerhouse performance
in All the King's Men, leading a topnotch cast in writer-director
Steven Zaillian's underrated adaptation of the Pulitzer
prize-winning 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. When
you consider that the previous 1949 film version earned
well-deserved Academy Awards for director Robert Rossen
and actors Broderick Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge,
it's no surprise that Zaillian's film was expected to earn
similar acclaim, but lukewarm critical reception and
disappointing box-office gave the stigma of a noble failure.
And while the film (which moves Warren's story from the
Depression-era '30s to the early 1950s) suffers from uneven
pacing, partial miscasting, and an occasional lack of dramatic
tension, it still qualifies as a first-class production that resonates
with the timeless relevance of Warren's piercing political classic.
Like Broderick before him, Penn is riveting as Louisiana governor
Willie Stark, an upstart political dynamo< (freely inspired by
controversial real-life Louisiana governor Huey P. Long)
whose rise to power is ultimately doomed by corruption and
betrayal.

Jude Law costars as political reporter Jack Burden, our firsthand
witness to Stark's rise and inevitable fall; his orbit of political
insiders includes a corrupt judge (Anthony Hopkins) with a dark
secret to hide; a longtime friend (Mark Ruffalo) and former lover
(Kate Winslet) who fall victim to Stark's influence; and political
staffers (James Gandolfini, Patricia Clarkson) who remain powerless
against Stark's ill-fated populist juggernaut. At Sean Penn's request,
former child star Jackie Earle Haley (from the original Bad News
Bears) makes a welcome return to movies as Willie Stark's quietly
intense bodyguard, "Sugar-Boy." Coproduced by Louisiana-born
political consultant James Carville, filmed on authentic Louisiana
locations and boasting all the stately, luxurious production values
of a would-be Oscar contender, All the King's Men clearly benefits
from Penn's fiery performance and Zaillian's earnest embrace of
Warren's still-potent subject matter. And while the film's shortcomings
may have prevented it from achieving unanimous acclaim, this is
still a serious, well-crafted drama with much to say about the insidious
potential for fascism in America, especially when well-meaning
politicians lose their souls to power. --Jeff Shannon